Disposition of Personal Property at Death

By Brandan J. Pratt, Esq., CFP®

In estate proceedings, it is all too common for family members to get into arguments over who should receive certain items of personal property upon the death of a loved one. The disputes range from who should receive the diamond ring, artwork, fine china or other family heirlooms. The disputes often involve claims that a deceased relative made a verbal promise that the family member could have the item upon death or agreements that beneficiaries claimed existed with each other and/or the Decedent. The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently gave practitioner’s some instruction on how to address these issues in, Eisenpresser v. Koenig, 43 Fla. L. Weekly D376 (Fla. 4th DCA February 14, 2018). In Eisenpresser v. Koenig, the Decedent was survived by two daughters, Eisenpresser and Koenig.